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I was talking to a friend the other day about how to set short term goals in powerlifting. Between plate records, kg, lb, bodyweight multipliers, wilks and totals - there is always another goal within about 10kg to shoot for. Always makes it interesting.

Yeah, that's a good idea. Is there a recommended % of max and # of reps or something like that?

Hmm, I'd have to do cable stuff at the gym. I've been doing my biceps/chest stuff at home, but I can probably work that in and see if it helps. Thanks!

Chances are, your stall-out is due to some smaller muscle group not quite having the oomph to carry through with what the rest of the involved muscles are up to. The reason I recomend crossover flys is because they're intended to work the sternal head more than most chestwork lifts. Try reducing your bench days by one, and doing these flys fairly often. Run it on a 5x8, changing the height at which your hands meet each set, and work with a relatively lighter weight for safety and more of an endurance build.

The thing I need to do the most is not eat right before bed. I know how bad that is for keeping off weight, but I have really weird sleep habits and can almost never actually fall asleep until I've been lying in bed for at least an hour, and I always feel really hungry before I even get into bed. That coupled with the fact that I've been told I have to eating habits of a sumo wrestler can't help anything.

I've also tried to knock out sweets, but I'm too weak. Still attempting to limit them but it doesn't always work.

Oh, and as for actual lifting, for some reason it seems I've been able to keep on increasing the weight for most of my lifts, except for my regular bench, which seems to have stalled out, and I'm not sure why. I'll keep going with it like I have been but if I don't see any increase I'm going to have to change something up I guess.

If your other lifts are going up, a stall is likely either a form problem or you trying to make too large a jump. What's your ht/wt/age? And what are you benching? People have success with microloading their bench. Accessory work is rarely the answer. Train the major movements to improve the major movements.

I find my bench days pretty inconsistent in terms of results, because some days my form seems to totally suck, and I can feel it stopping me from lifting maximal weight. The only way I've been able to improve this is by practicing the movement more.

Things like direct chest and triceps work (like dips and flyes) may help, but it's not always the main problem. I'm pretty sure it was I think Wendler who swears that his dips never directly added to his bench strength. But then again, some people swear they do, so YMMV.

Belts will help you get stronger faster. They allow more muscles around your trunk to work harder. If you injure your back, even a little bit, a belt is necessary. If you feel like your hips are transferring power to the bar through a rigid trunk, you're okay without a belt for now. I am squatting not much above 1.5X BW for 5x3, and my belt is in the mail.

Yeah I think I'm gonna have to look into one. I've been doing solid, heavy lifting routinely (as opposed to fucking around intermittently) for 3 or 4 months now, squat is creeping over 1.5xBW, deadlift is slowly getting close to 1.8xBW I think. Any suggestions for a belt? I know TRB posted some good belts maybe in the last thread, but I can't remember the recommendations.

The thing I need to do the most is not eat right before bed. I know how bad that is for keeping off weight, but I have really weird sleep habits and can almost never actually fall asleep until I've been lying in bed for at least an hour, and I always feel really hungry before I even get into bed. That coupled with the fact that I've been told I have to eating habits of a sumo wrestler can't help anything.

I've also tried to knock out sweets, but I'm too weak. Still attempting to limit them but it doesn't always work.

Oh, and as for actual lifting, for some reason it seems I've been able to keep on increasing the weight for most of my lifts, except for my regular bench, which seems to have stalled out, and I'm not sure why. I'll keep going with it like I have been but if I don't see any increase I'm going to have to change something up I guess.

If your other lifts are going up, a stall is likely either a form problem or you trying to make too large a jump. What's your ht/wt/age? And what are you benching? People have success with microloading their bench. Accessory work is rarely the answer. Train the major movements to improve the major movements.

Ok first, when someone asks "what are you benching?" in general at how many reps are they referring to? Is it 1 rep max or a more varied range or something? Anyway, I'll say mt bench is at 155x5 right now. Although my close grip is at 160x5, so that did pass my regular bench. I'm 6'0"/240/29.

What's microloading? I'm cool with trying new stuff, as long as there's no serious injury risk or whatever.

The thing I need to do the most is not eat right before bed. I know how bad that is for keeping off weight, but I have really weird sleep habits and can almost never actually fall asleep until I've been lying in bed for at least an hour, and I always feel really hungry before I even get into bed. That coupled with the fact that I've been told I have to eating habits of a sumo wrestler can't help anything.

I've also tried to knock out sweets, but I'm too weak. Still attempting to limit them but it doesn't always work.

Oh, and as for actual lifting, for some reason it seems I've been able to keep on increasing the weight for most of my lifts, except for my regular bench, which seems to have stalled out, and I'm not sure why. I'll keep going with it like I have been but if I don't see any increase I'm going to have to change something up I guess.

If your other lifts are going up, a stall is likely either a form problem or you trying to make too large a jump. What's your ht/wt/age? And what are you benching? People have success with microloading their bench. Accessory work is rarely the answer. Train the major movements to improve the major movements.

Ok first, when someone asks "what are you benching?" in general at how many reps are they referring to? Is it 1 rep max or a more varied range or something? Anyway, I'll say mt bench is at 155x5 right now. Although my close grip is at 160x5, so that did pass my regular bench. I'm 6'0"/240/29.

What's microloading? I'm cool with trying new stuff, as long as there's no serious injury risk or whatever.

When someone asks how much you bench, I guess they usually mean a 1RM. But screw those people, your answer was a good one. You don't need to gain weight. Probably a form problem. Unless you're trying to make 10 lb jumps. Make sure you're taking long enough between sets (4-5 minutes).

And microloading is just making jumps less than 5 lbs. 3, 2.5, 2 or 1 pound jumps.
Post a form check video

Yeah I think I'm gonna have to look into one. I've been doing solid, heavy lifting routinely (as opposed to fucking around intermittently) for 3 or 4 months now, squat is creeping over 1.5xBW, deadlift is slowly getting close to 1.8xBW I think. Any suggestions for a belt? I know TRB posted some good belts maybe in the last thread, but I can't remember the recommendations.

The best belt. It isn't the cheapest belt but it isn't the most expensive, and it is the best. I bought a cheap belt and it was crap and a waste of money and I sacked up and got one of these and it has worked great for like two years now and I see no reason it won't last me forever. Get one prong. Be aware that it takes 3-6 weeks to get the belt to you depending on color.

Unless I'm missing a plate somewhere it seems I'll be able to go up to 134.2 lbs with the weights I have out right now, I have no idea what will be in the back den but if my 'friends' claim of lifting 200+ pounds is true, they are probably the bigger weights. The box is literally bulging out obscenely at the front from what's in it.

When someone asks how much you bench, I guess they usually mean a 1RM. But screw those people, your answer was a good one. You don't need to gain weight. Probably a form problem. Unless you're trying to make 10 lb jumps. Make sure you're taking long enough between sets (4-5 minutes).

And microloading is just making jumps less than 5 lbs. 3, 2.5, 2 or 1 pound jumps.
Post a form check video

Ha! Yes, I definitely do not need to gain weight.

No, I only try 5 lb jumps. Hmm, I'd say I generally wait 2-3 minutes between sets, though sometimes that goes a bit long. I'm within that area though I believe. Yeah I looked microloading up a bit ago and I kind of figured that's what it meant. I'd have to buy some of those chain things or something, I guess.

Form check video? Hmm, I guess I can set something up either at the gym or at home...I'll see what I can do. I'm sure as hell not going to rule out bad form.

Yeah I think I'm gonna have to look into one. I've been doing solid, heavy lifting routinely (as opposed to fucking around intermittently) for 3 or 4 months now, squat is creeping over 1.5xBW, deadlift is slowly getting close to 1.8xBW I think. Any suggestions for a belt? I know TRB posted some good belts maybe in the last thread, but I can't remember the recommendations.

The best belt. It isn't the cheapest belt but it isn't the most expensive, and it is the best. I bought a cheap belt and it was crap and a waste of money and I sacked up and got one of these and it has worked great for like two years now and I see no reason it won't last me forever. Get one prong. Be aware that it takes 3-6 weeks to get the belt to you depending on color.

Ah yeah I think this may have been the link I recall seeing, the belts look familiar. I'll check it out at some point in the near future, cheers.

Also, I don't really consider spending $80 on a belt to be that expensive. The thing is supposed to last at the very least a few years, so it's good value from my perspective.

@TheRealBadger that belt is dope son, I've been kicking ideas around about what to do with mine.

I got an Inzer forever single prong, based mainly on this thread's recommendation, and it's really nice. I like it. I've been squatting without recently but that's a personal thing, it's not the belt's fault.

If you feel like your hips are transferring power to the bar through a rigid trunk, you're okay without a belt for now.

When I started using a belt regularly, it felt like my back, from hips through to shoulders, was a steel rod. As in, solid. I find that it made it easier for me to get my hips and shoulders rising at the same speed out of the hole, rather than having my hips pop up and a little wobble in the back.

Since my lifts have dropped I'm not using a belt right now, but soon I'll be back to a weight where I consider a belt worth it. The one I got was this from Underground Elite (Australia), and it's really nice. Good solid feel. Of course for the amount i've used it I can't attest to the durability, but give me a few years and I'll let you know.

I don't know where he got the scorpions, or how he got them into my mattress.

Clearly I was lifting below my capacity on some of those, but my bench was genuinely that poor, so thats satisfying at least. Squats have become the elephant in the room though. There is no rack, and rather than use the Smith Machine I do regular squats by pressing 99lbs into the position on O. Press days, and hack squats at 198lbs on Dead lift days. Its not ideal, but its something. My legs have always been my strongest feature, but I hoped all them pushups and pullups I did prior would have set me up better for the bench, but oh well.